1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to microwave systems, and more particularly to phased array antennas of the multichannel type having a plurality of radiating apertures.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Generally, phased array antennas are used in either a ground, airborne or space application. The prior art phased array antenna is comprised of a plurality of separate radiating elements each of which performs identical electrical functions. Each radiating element includes a microwave feed with couplers to distribute the required microwave power to each element, phase shifters to change the radiated energy phase as required for antenna beam position, drive circuitry to power the phase shift component, logic circuitry to provide phase shifter/driver steering information, and a microwave radiator to shape and disseminate the microwave energy. Each of these functions must be repeated for each phased array antenna element required to form the complete antenna. Prior antenna designs which incorporate these separate functions for each required radiating element are expensive, heavy, and unreliable because of several thousand critical microwave, logic, and DC required. Furthermore, the integration of these separate functions in the conventional manner requires individual structures, heat sinking and electrical interconnections for each function. As a result, the weight, cost and maintainability requirements of existing designs make the phased array antenna highly impractical.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a phased array antenna which requires minimum individual structures, a minimum number of heat sinks and a minimum number of electrical connections for each antenna function.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a phased array antenna in the form of an integrated modular design which minimizes both electrical and mechanical interfaces and results in a low cost, lightweight assembly.